John Swinney: Plenty of work available at meat factory facing closure

A MEAT factory facing closure with the loss of 1,700 jobs has plenty of work available, the Finance Secretary has said.

A MEAT factory facing closure with the loss of 1,700 jobs has plenty of work available, the Finance Secretary has said.

John Swinney said a general financial strain across the sector is a possible cause of the problem at Hall's of Broxburn, in West Lothian.

"All the employees tell me they're busy, some of them only in the last couple of days were being asked to work overtime," he told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme.

"There's plenty of work going in and out of the plant. The challenge is to ensure that we can deliver a productive and profitable approach that maintains continuous employment. That has to be my priority.

"It is far too early to make any assumptions about what may come out of the end of this process."

Vion Food UK, which owns the plant, said yesterday it was beginning a 90-day consultation exercise with workers and unions.

The firm is making losses of £79,000 a day despite heavy investment in the past four years.

"The plant is essentially capable of delivering more activity - it's a very large site, there's more capacity there than is perhaps being fully utilised," Mr Swinney said.

"Secondly, there is a general financial strain within food processing companies of this type, so they have to be efficient, they have to have lean structures for the operation of the company.

"I suppose thirdly there is the general economic conditions, which are a challenge for companies of this type."

The company was offered taxpayers' money to fund an apprenticeship scheme last year but has not yet accessed the fund.

In September, Vion said 250 jobs would be created with £1.5 million support from Scottish Enterprise and up to £500,000 from Skills Development Scotland.

Among the 250 jobs were to be as many as 100 modern apprenticeships. The investment was said to "safeguard" 1,000 other jobs.

Mr Swinney said: "The money is committed but it's not been drawn down - it has to be part of discussions I have with the company and with other stakeholders about how we take forward the agenda for the plant."

He said the jobs threat is puzzling, given the firm's strong market position and "quality" products.

"It is puzzling but it's also a challenge to ensure that we can use what is a very, very strong market presence for Hall's of Broxburn, they have a strong presence not just in Scotland but right across the United Kingdom," he said.

"Many of their products are quality products which have a high reputation. We have to turn that to the advantage of the employees of the plant to create a sustainable business venture."

The plant has run into difficulty twice in recent years, Mr Swinney said.

He set up a taskforce yesterday comprising company representatives; the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers; West Lothian Council; the MP and MSP for the area; Scottish Enterprise; Scottish Development International; Skills Development Scotland; Job Centre Plus and Quality Meat Scotland. It will reconvene on July 30.

The factory was bought by Vion Food Group in August 2008 and employs 1,150 permanent and 595 agency staff.

It is a major processing facility for Scottish pork used to make sausages and other meat products, handling around 8,000 pigs each week.

West Lothian Council will convene a special meeting during the summer recess to allow members to hear a report about the potential closure.

Councillors will gather at the civic centre in Livingston on Tuesday morning.

Council leader John McGinty said: "I have taken urgent action to call a special meeting of the council executive as the potential loss of 1,700 jobs at the Vion Halls plant in Broxburn is a critical issue and the 90-day consultation period means that the clock is already ticking.

"The possible loss of 1,700 jobs is devastating for the people employed at Halls, their families and for West Lothian as a whole."